Drink drive legal process questions
Discussion
Cutting a long and dull story short, I've just been told that someone I know has lost their licence. But some of the story doesn't add up so I'm trying to work out which bits are b
ks....
Apparently they were caught in December and have just been banned. But, again apparently, there wasn't a court appearance as they pled guilty. First question is is this a thing now? I thought there was always a court appearance for a ban.
The further complication is that there's been a change of car about the same time. Apparently (again!!) due to mechanical issues but with an interesting choice of words as the garage that was looking at it apparently "wrote it off"... This was a 5-y-o mini.
It was an odd way to put it at the time and now this has come to light makes me think it was more than just a Christmas drunk drive stop.
ks....Apparently they were caught in December and have just been banned. But, again apparently, there wasn't a court appearance as they pled guilty. First question is is this a thing now? I thought there was always a court appearance for a ban.
The further complication is that there's been a change of car about the same time. Apparently (again!!) due to mechanical issues but with an interesting choice of words as the garage that was looking at it apparently "wrote it off"... This was a 5-y-o mini.
It was an odd way to put it at the time and now this has come to light makes me think it was more than just a Christmas drunk drive stop.
Bill said:
Apparently they were caught in December and have just been banned. But, again apparently, there wasn't a court appearance as they pled guilty. First question is is this a thing now? I thought there was always a court appearance for a ban.
Don't know about this one.Bill said:
The further complication is that there's been a change of car about the same time. Apparently (again!!) due to mechanical issues but with an interesting choice of words as the garage that was looking at it apparently "wrote it off"... This was a 5-y-o mini.
So (allegedly) the car was taken in by the garage for work to be done & it was uneconomical to repair, it happens.Bill said:
It was an odd way to put it at the time and now this has come to light makes me think it was more than just a Christmas drunk drive stop.
Personal matter, IMHO.Afaik you always have to go to court for a dd offence irrespective of how you intend to plead although I would presume not guilty would be a pretty difficult one to get away with.
I can understand there could be a time delay between offence and court though.
Equally the latter could explain why there was a change of car between offence and court.
However I would imagine the number of people who change their car between offence and court are somewhat small.
I can understand there could be a time delay between offence and court though.
Equally the latter could explain why there was a change of car between offence and court.
However I would imagine the number of people who change their car between offence and court are somewhat small.
[quote=Plus4Four#]
Without the correct details there is a lot of guesswork and speculation.
Hence why so many topics get lengthy and full of rubbish.
The full story would take too long. The complication is that I can't butt out/mind my own business as suggested because of wider ramifications. I just want to confirm whether or not I'm being lied to as I suspect.Bill said:
Unfortunately it's more complicated than that.
What's the full story?Without the correct details there is a lot of guesswork and speculation.
Hence why so many topics get lengthy and full of rubbish.
The length of time between being arrested for the offence and attending court is sadly not unusual, the courts are basically backlogged and a DD offence would require a hearing of some description even with a guilty plea. Depending on how over the limit the person was when breathalysed it may also have been needed to take a blood sample for testing in which case the time to get that analysed can cause a delay in charging. If it was a straight forward fail roadside breath test then fail again at Police station the person is normally charged as soon as they are sober (provide a breath test under the legal limit).
As far as I was aware it is still required to attend court in person for any possible disqualification but it may be there are extenuating circumstances.
I'm sure Mr AGT will be along shortly to advise better than I on that
As far as I was aware it is still required to attend court in person for any possible disqualification but it may be there are extenuating circumstances.
I'm sure Mr AGT will be along shortly to advise better than I on that
Given the complete lack of any detail in the post, was the Driver involved in an accident? Was the car damaged? Was the car written off based on any such damage? Was a blood test taken?
Police have up to 6mths to charge and can take up to the last couple of days before charging. Not sure about the 'having' to attend court, are you sure they didn't?
If it's a close relative your asking about, they could be trying to save you from the full, gory, details and their undoubted shame and embarrassment over the whole situation!
Police have up to 6mths to charge and can take up to the last couple of days before charging. Not sure about the 'having' to attend court, are you sure they didn't?
If it's a close relative your asking about, they could be trying to save you from the full, gory, details and their undoubted shame and embarrassment over the whole situation!
super7 said:
Given the complete lack of any detail in the post, was the Driver involved in an accident? Was the car damaged? Was the car written off based on any such damage? Was a blood test taken?
I have no idea, but trying to work some of it out.super7 said:
Police have up to 6mths to charge and can take up to the last couple of days before charging. Not sure about the 'having' to attend court, are you sure they didn't?
No. Again just making sure of my facts before I say anything. If there's no way to dodge court then I know I'm not being told the truth.super7 said:
If it's a close relative your asking about, they could be trying to save you from the full, gory, details and their undoubted shame and embarrassment over the whole situation!
This is someone my wife knows with known alcohol issues. They are meant to be honest about it. I want to be sure of my facts before pointing out there's some level of dishonesty going on.Bill said:
alscar said:
The story as given to you doesn t add up but you don t have to use the lie word.
What else do you call deliberately not telling the truth?
This sounds to me like she's drink drove home from somewhere, hit something on the way, been reported and the fuzz have turned up at her home and breathalysed her having seen the damage to the car.
Complete speculation but would possibly explain why the process has been dragged out a bit.
Complete speculation but would possibly explain why the process has been dragged out a bit.
super7 said:
If it's a close relative your asking about, they could be trying to save you from the full, gory, details and their undoubted shame and embarrassment over the whole situation!
bill said:
This is someone my wife knows with known alcohol issues. They are meant to be honest about it. I want to be sure of my facts before pointing out there's some level of dishonesty going on.
Why do you need to do that..... surely it's between the person your wife knows and the court and the persons family. Why do you need to know the truth..... Are you the Judge now?
Hello Bill.
All that I can add here is that in my experience, during 16 years as a PO, it was very rare, in fact almost unheard of, for an offender to accurately describe the offence for which they were prosecuted for.
As a side note, I've known it before that somebody who is looking at a ban will change their car as they intend to continue driving and want to remain incognito.
All that I can add here is that in my experience, during 16 years as a PO, it was very rare, in fact almost unheard of, for an offender to accurately describe the offence for which they were prosecuted for.
As a side note, I've known it before that somebody who is looking at a ban will change their car as they intend to continue driving and want to remain incognito.
You definitely have to go to court for DD but as has been pointed out it can take a while. If it isn't as straightforward as roadside followed by failing an evidential test at the station then it can take longer for blood results and it's not uncommon for that to take 6 months minus a few days before getting before the court.
However, if it was the former then your friend will have been given his court date when he was released from custody and would have been free to drive from that point up until formally banned by the court.
The car situation nobody can really help you with given the limited information provided but you'd have to be pretty stupid to write off a car and buy a new one before you go to court as even with a low reading it's a minimum 12 month ban (9 months with the DDRS course).
As has been said, he'll be playing it down to sound not quite as bad as it is, i.e. he was caught with a bottle of vodka in his hand having crashed his car becomes "done the morning after on a Christmas crackdown".
If he has written off his car or damaged any other property then his insurance will not pay out for his car, but will pay out for third party damages then most likely recover it from him (assuming his insurance are made aware) which could add up to a very costly mistake.
It's safe to say this guy has an alcohol problem (somewhere on a scale of loves a drink to can't stop drinking) by the very nature of being caught drink driving
However, if it was the former then your friend will have been given his court date when he was released from custody and would have been free to drive from that point up until formally banned by the court.
The car situation nobody can really help you with given the limited information provided but you'd have to be pretty stupid to write off a car and buy a new one before you go to court as even with a low reading it's a minimum 12 month ban (9 months with the DDRS course).
As has been said, he'll be playing it down to sound not quite as bad as it is, i.e. he was caught with a bottle of vodka in his hand having crashed his car becomes "done the morning after on a Christmas crackdown".
If he has written off his car or damaged any other property then his insurance will not pay out for his car, but will pay out for third party damages then most likely recover it from him (assuming his insurance are made aware) which could add up to a very costly mistake.
It's safe to say this guy has an alcohol problem (somewhere on a scale of loves a drink to can't stop drinking) by the very nature of being caught drink driving
After reading the original post again....
The OP knows someone involved but no clear detail as to who it is...
Family/friend/other.
No actual detail of the offence involved, it is an assumption of DD due to comments of pre Christmas routine stop.
In the meantime a car has been described as written off by a garage. Is this due to the original incident or just a subsequent fault?
The car has been changed in the meantime.
Subsequent posts by others have given basic info re likely procedures that might apply for various scenarios.
All speculation and guesswork due to the lack of facts re the situation resulting in the ban.
This looks like a topic that is typical of many PH topics that expand due to lack of detail resulting in what-iffery scenarios being put forward.
All part of the fun!
We might get more details drip fed but until then keyboards will be tickled.⌨️
The OP knows someone involved but no clear detail as to who it is...
Family/friend/other.
No actual detail of the offence involved, it is an assumption of DD due to comments of pre Christmas routine stop.
In the meantime a car has been described as written off by a garage. Is this due to the original incident or just a subsequent fault?
The car has been changed in the meantime.
Subsequent posts by others have given basic info re likely procedures that might apply for various scenarios.
All speculation and guesswork due to the lack of facts re the situation resulting in the ban.
This looks like a topic that is typical of many PH topics that expand due to lack of detail resulting in what-iffery scenarios being put forward.
All part of the fun!
We might get more details drip fed but until then keyboards will be tickled.⌨️
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